Change Your Image
larry-DEG
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Occupation (2018)
Left a Lasting Impression
I wasn't expecting too much from this little gem of a flick, but I was very much impressed with the scope of detail and effort put into the production value. With sci-fi endeavors, the producer would expend all the budget in the last 30-minutes of the final battle. This one, however, had visual effects spread evenly throughout its entirety.
The acting was solid. The characters were complicated and true to their strengths and faults.
I had two issues with the film. Each individual scene were portrayed well, but the transitions were getting rough to the end. Something seemed off and the scenes were not tying well together. I believe it may be something with the script and not the directorial. The cinematography was spot on.
The last issue was the music composition. The music composer was strong, but the music went on going and going and often times had no rest, to the point of hokiness.
I give it an A- for effort and have hopes for the sequel. Saban Films made good, and their most recent lineup seems most promising.
Twin Peaks (2017)
Super Fresh!
"Twin Peaks: Season Three" is über-fresh. Hot and sexy, intriguing and mesmerizing. In fact, it's currently the freshest series out there in all of Television. The first two seasons re-wrote the format of daytime drama. This newest installment sets the bar much higher. This is "The Hidden" meets "The X-Files." Dying to see Season Four and Five!
Power Rangers (2017)
why it isn't a Transformers blockbuster
If Saban is going to spend $100 million on "Power Rangers", why did Dean Israelite only make $135 million back in the box office? "Transformers" made $708 million in 2007. The producers had a strong film budget, so what could possibly go wrong? Watch the midpoint on "Transformers" and the midpoint on "Power Rangers." I won't spoil it for you. You might get a good hint. Josh Trank of "Chronicle" could have done a better job. He made $168 million over his $126 million tent pole "Fantastic Four" in 2015. At least he made $42 million over the measly $35 million. Granted that Josh Trank and Dean Israelite are not Michael Bay, Joseph Kahn (another Generation X-er) made a superior version that was mature and well-developed, with chemistry and heart, and a intertwined story line that pulled the audience in, wanting for more. It had action like "The Matrix" with gritty drama like SyFy's "Battlestar Galactica". I felt his version moved the franchise forward from the small screen to the big. However, the trend is to hire Millennial filmmakers over Generation X filmmakers for budgets over $100 million because (and I quote) "Millennials can only relate to Millennials." Really? I mean REALLY? Forgot about Good Story-telling? Hello??!! It is not about one generation relating to another generation. Alfred Hitchcock even kicks butt in the post Millennial era. And so another franchise died as quickly as "The Last Airbender." Saban, try again please. Take my Alexander Hamiltons from these dying hands!
The Last Survivors (2014)
Fallout meets Lord of the Flies
I enjoy Fallout-themed features like "The Book of Eli", "Snow Piercer" and "The Hills Have Eyes." For its independent film budget, "The Last Survivors" delivered good production quality and intense drama with well-paced scenes. The film director depicted hardships and life-and-death struggles that were very convincing. Carson and his daughter make formidable villains (think "Neegan"). I can empathize with Kendal's day-to-day struggle to hide from the hunters, scrounge enough food and water for her group, and eject stragglers from their land, with the hope to find the correct distributor cap to fly their plane a better place. For its originality and fine execution, I give it high ratings.
Nitaboh: Tsugaru shamisen shiso gaibun (2004)
"... tour de force ..."
Very few recent films come out to engage and educate the audience of a cultural watershed in Japanese music. The animation is beautifully poignant and tastefully done. The period that Nitaboh lives in is very dangerous for juvenile persons with disability. As a blind musician, he is not permitted to join the popular sects in society due to his low status as the son of a boatman. And influential sects begrudged Nitaboh's blossoming talent. He is discriminated against for being blind; he is discriminated against for being poor; and he is discriminated against for playing the shamisen in a nontraditional style. The young upstart's odds of survival was nonexistent from the beginning. The constant pangs of loneliness, personal loss, and an uncertain future hang over the blind child into adulthood, but some great inner strength carries Nitaboh through this very private journey. Few find the courage to love him, and he returns their love with his music. Music is a universal language for all audience, and the triumph of the human spirit is definitely a universal theme one can take to heart from a film crafted with love.